December 27, 2012

Santa Claus celebrates his 150th anniversary on magazine covers

A week from today will mark the 150th anniversary of the first magazine cover appearance of Santa Claus, in a drawing by the cartooonist Thomas Nast. It appeared on the January 3, 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly and showed the jolly old elf bestowing gifts on Union troops, while dressed in what appears to be the stars and stripes. Nast is credited with creating the familiar image of Santa Claus that lives on to this day.